Kasey entertained us with her special skills.

Kasey and Jayvyn and I took a road trip along Highway 212  this weekend (way, way west of the Twin Cities) and we noticed that there are an increasing number of antique shops and quaint coffee houses along the way.

We saw this one in Olivia on the western edge of town.  The next one we saw was in Renville.

Renville had a coffee house and more shops across the street from the antique shop pictured above.

We didn't see an antique shop in Sacred Heart, but we saw Kathy's Place, a diner in an interesting little building on the north side of 212.

And we had to photograph the old Sacred Heart Hotel on the south side of the street, because we come from the kind of women-stock that say to ourselves when we see an interesting building, "I could really do something with this place."

We saw an outdoor antique sale going on in Granite Falls at the Prairie Mercantile antique store.

We ended our trip in downtown Montevideo where we photographed the Past Reflections antique shop.

It looks like the 212 corridor, a couple of hours west of the Twin Cities, would provide a very satisying day-trip (or overnight would be even better) for antiquers looking for places not overrun by collectors.  And believe me, once you reach the Minnesota river valley near Granite Falls, the scenery alone is worth the trip.